10 Best Stocks for 2012: The Results Are In

Find out how our experts' picks fared in last year's contest

At the end of last year, InvestorPlace kicked off a contest called Ten Best Stocks for 2012. In it, 10 stock market experts each picked a buy-and-hold investment they thought would deliver market-beating returns over the course of 2012.

Now, after 12 long months of tough competition and countless shakeups, the results are in. The stock that was on top after Q1 finished the year at the bottom, making it one of two picks that lagged the group — and the broader market — significantly.

Overall, though, it was a relatively successful year. While the average of all the picks wasn’t anything stellar, seven stocks finished in the black, and four managed to best the S&P 500’s total return of 16%.

With that in mind, let’s take at which stock-picker and company came out on top. Here are the results of InvestorPlace‘s Ten Best Stocks for 2012: